The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be and are not to be construed as statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but may assist in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention, of which the identification of pertinent prior proposals is but one part.
In many parts of the world, there is a high level of concern over excess energy usage. There have been many proposals aimed at saving energy, at both international and national levels.
In the area of inventions which may effect energy savings, reference is made to International Patent Application No WO 2005/111766 and International Patent Application No WO 2008/064410. Each of these patent specifications is incorporated herein by reference and both are referred to below as the International Applications.
The International Applications disclose inventions where electrical devices are connected to a single mains supply electrical outlet, and the current flow through and voltage across at least one of the electrical devices is monitored in order to determine a functional state of that device. Depending on the nature of the functional state of the device and the nature of the other electrical devices, the supply of power to any or all of the other electrical devices can be shut off, so that not all electrical devices are powered in situations where power to them is unnecessary.
The present invention is predicated upon the concept that energy saving capability of such energy saving devices as those in the International Applications may be enhanced by monitoring and, in some embodiments, by networking a plurality of such energy saving devices.
Although energy saving devices such as those in the International Applications may autonomously maximise energy savings at their individual level, it is believed that the addition of networking capability can provide advantages not available before now.